AIM FOR THE TOP
Kevin McLean insists he always aspires to be number one – so that will not change when East Kilbride Thistle embark on their League One campaign this weekend.
Following league reconstruction in the Junior ranks, the West Region and Ayrshire leagues have merged to form four leagues of 16 this season.
The Jags find themselves in West Region One, remaining at the same level as last season’s Central District First Division, but with Ayrshire sides Maybole, Lugar Thistle and Ardrossan Winton Rovers in their league it makes for a much tougher proposition.
Thistle open their campaign on Saturday away to Maybole and, although they will be big outsiders after narrowly avoiding relegation last season, McLean is aiming high.
“I’ve always said I hate losing and I always want to be number one so my target is to finish top,” said the midfielder, from Lindsayfield.
“We’ll just need to see how we adapt to the new league but I’m always confident in this team.
“We want to win as many games as we can and get as high up the table as possible.
“It’s good to get Maybole early. That’s a good test and will tell us very early where we are and what we need to do, so I’m looking forward to it.
“We don’t want to be involved in a relegation battle again because it’s hard, especially when all those games build up at the end of the season.
“At the start of last season I was confident of us getting promoted but a few injuries came about and we struggled with all the games that came at us later in the season due to postponements.
“If we don’t get the three points we can’t let the heads go down.
“So we need to stay focused and get as many points as we can early on to be up there. We always seemed to play better against the bigger teams so maybe the league being tougher can help us.”
Over the summer, midfielders Scott McKean, Joe McIntosh, Chris Faulds and goalkeeper Martyn Meek all left the Showpark, while talisman Scott Hadden could also be heading for the exit after going on trial at Junior Premiership giants Auchinleck.
So gaffer Alan Paterson, who arrived from EK Amateurs last season, has had to delve into his old stomping ground to bolster the squad.
Central midfielder Waleed Nadeem became his seventh signing last week when he joined from Colville Park, adding to the captures of Chris Phillibin, Keegan Leddie, Reece Clark, former EKYM striker Craig Tocher and ex-EKFC players Jonny Diack and Ross Meldrum, who will be Thistle’s new number one.
McLean added: “It’s tough losing your top players but we just need to adapt to it.
“I think Paterson has done well and, from what I’ve seen of them, they look of good quality.
“Wee Tocher: his pace is frightening. He’s one of the quickest boys I’ve ever seen.
“I played with him a couple of seasons ago at Amateur level. He hasn’t scored yet. He’s had a couple of half chances but once one goes in I’d love to see him get 10 or 20 for us.
“We’ve got a few strikers and that gives us different options.
“We’ve got height and we’ve got pace and they’ve all got goals in them at this level.”
Paterson is also pleased with what he has assembled for his second season at the Showpark.
He said: “We were tactically naive at times last season but we’ve brought players in that we can use to adapt our style when needed.
“We were a bit one-dimensional and last season was a learning curve but we can change the play to hit teams on the counter-attack or be a bit more cautious.”
Following last season’s run to the last 32 of the Scottish Cup, he would love to see them go deep into the competition again.
He added: “I wouldn’t mind another good run in the Junior Cup because that was a great experience for us last season, going to the likes of Girvan and Culter and winning.
“That was great for morale and the boys all enjoyed it but we know the league is the most important thing.
“We need to make sure we don’t give ourselves a mountain to climb like last season and have a more consistent level of performance.
“This season we are trying to bring a bit of youth and pace to the side.
“I felt teams in the league weren’t much better than us, just a bit fitter, so if we can improve that and make ourselves difficult to beat, that should serve us well.”